Heat capacities of solid polymers

The heat capacity of a solid polymer is governed by the manner in which the internal energy is distributed over the various degrees of freedom. If the internal energy manifests itself in harmonic oscillatory motions, the heat capacity is the sum of contributions of the normal modes of motion. In practice, full frequency data are not generally available for polymers. This paper proposes an empirical method for determining the heat capacities of linear high polymers by the addition of contributions from different chain segments. A survey of heat capacity data for 30 linear high polymers and several copolymer systems has revealed that additivity is usually valid for a temperature range from about 60°K to the glass-transition temperature. A table of heat capacity contributions of a number of polymer constituents is derived which permits the calculation of unknown heat capacities to an accuracy of ±5% or better. In addition, δC_p data for the increase of the heat capacity at the glass-transition temperature were found to agree with the rule of constant heat capacity increase per mole of “bead” proposed 8 years ago.     

Alkyne Aminopalladation/Heck and Suzuki Cascades: An Approach to Tetrasubstituted Enamines

Alkyne aminopalladation reactions starting from tosylamides are reported. The emerging vinylic Pd species are converted either in an intramolecular Heck reaction with olefinic units or in an intermolecular Suzuki reaction by using boronic acids exhibiting broad functional group tolerance. Tetra(hetero)substituted tosylated enamines are obtained in a simple one-pot process.     

Dynamic response of a growing inclusion in a discrete system

The propagation of a semi-infinite line defect, contained in an infinite square-cell lattice is considered. The defect is composed of particles lighter than those in the ambient lattice and it is assumed this defect propagates with constant speed. Dispersion properties of the lattice are related to waves generated by the propagating defect. In order to determine these properties, the Wiener–Hopf technique is applied. Additional features, related to localisation along the defect are also identified. Analysis of the dispersion relations for this lattice, from the kernel function inside the Wiener–Hopf equation, is carried out. The solution of the Wiener–Hopf equation is presented for the case when an external load is applied corresponding to an energy flux at infinity.     

Combined prostate diffusion tensor imaging and dynamic contrast enhanced MRI at 3T — quantitative correlation with biopsy

The purpose of this work was to compare diagnostic accuracy of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE MRI) and their combination in diagnosing prostate cancer. Twenty-five patients with clinical suspicion of prostate cancer underwent MRI, prior to transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies. MRI data were correlated to biopsy results. Logistic regression models were constructed for the DTI parameters, DCE MRI parameters, and their combination. The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curves (AUC) were compared between the models. The nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for statistical analysis. The sensitivity and specificity values were respectively 81% (74–87%) and 85% (79–90%) for DTI and 63% (55–70%) and 90% (85–94%) for DCE. The combination “DTI or DCE MRI” had 100% (97–100%) sensitivity and 77% (69–83%) specificity, while “DTI and DCE MRI” had 44% (37–52%) sensitivity and 98% (94–100%) specificity. The AUC for DTI+DCE parameters was significantly higher than that for either DTI (0.96 vs. 0.92, P=.0143) or DCE MRI parameters (0.96 vs. 0.87, P=.00187) alone. In conclusion, the combination of DTI and DCE MRI has significantly better accuracy in prostate cancer diagnosis than either technique alone.     

Deuterium solid echo line shape study of poly(ethylene oxide) dynamics in a blend with poly(methyl methacrylate)

Deuterium solid echo line shapes were measured on deuterated poly(ethylene oxide) (d₄PEO) in a blend with protonated poly(methyl methacrylate) to characterize chain dynamics of this component in the blend. Line shapes were observed as a function of temperature from 183 to 243 K and echo delay times from 10 to 100 μs on a blend containing 20 wt % d₄PEO. The line shapes and the associated relative intensities were quantitatively interpreted in terms of segmental motion and libration. The results of the interpretation are compared to an earlier study of deuterium spin‐lattice relaxation times over the temperature range of 313 to 413 K. A combined interpretation of both sets of data is developed based on bimodal distribution of correlation times that are separated by about 2 orders of magnitude in time. The faster mode is 30% of the correlation function with a stretched exponent near one while the slower mode is characterized by an exponent of 0.5. The source of the bimodal character is not revealed by the line shape and relaxation data but is consistent with the presence of two glass transition temperatures in this miscible blend and anomalous translational diffusion of diethyl ether through the blend. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 2433–2444, 2005     

Triphospha-Ferrocenes as Ligands. Crystal Structures of [Fe(η5-C5Me5)(η5-C2 TBu2P3)M(CO)5)], (M= Cr,MO, W) and the Novel ruthenium and Nickel Complexes [Fe(η5-C5Me5) (η5-C2 TBu2P3)Ru3(CO)9] and [Fe(η5-C5Me5)(η5-C2 tBu2P3)Ni(Co)2]2

Abstract

Syntheses and structures of penta- and hexaphosphorus analogues of ferrocene have been described recently¹. Unlike their simple ferrocene analogues, these complexes have further ligating potential towards other transition metal centres by virtue of the availability of the ring phosphorus lone-pair electrons that are not involved in the η⁵-coordination. We now describe the first examples of coordination compounds of the triphospha-ferrocene [Fe(η⁵-C₅Me₅) (η⁵-C₂ ^tBu₂P₃]. In the ruthenium complex [Fe(η⁵-C₅Me₅)(η⁵-C₂ ^tBu₂P₃) Ru₃(CO)₉] ² two adjacent phosphorus atoms of the η⁵-C₂ ^tBu₂P₃ ring are interlinked by a ruthenium carbonyl cluster in which all three ruthenium atoms interact with the phosphorus atoms. The tetrametallic nickel complex [Fe(η⁵-C₅Me₅)(η⁵-C₂ ^tBu₂P₃)Ni(CO)₂]₂ ³ represents the first example of intermolecular interlinkage of two phospha-ferrocene systems by two metal centres.